Thorpe: 'No going back'

Graham Thorpe has reaffirmed his decision to retire from international cricket, insisting that there will be "no going back, under any cicumstances," writing for the Mail on Sunday today.

Thorpe's announcement to retire came on Friday. "My partner is having a baby in the next couple of weeks and I have decided that I want to concentrate on my family life," he said. Thorpe suggested the decision to retire had been made easier for him by David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors:

"In the end, it was as much what Graveney didn't say as what he did that settled it for me," he said. "He didn't say, 'You're next in line, so please continue to make yourself available'. And he didn't say, 'It's all over', but, as a player, you get vibes about what the selectors are thinking."

Graveney, speaking to reporters on Sunday, at Lord's, denied the implication that the selectors had closed the door on Thorpe: "When I informed him he wasn't playing...I did suggest on behalf of the selectors that, if at all possible, we could keep a door open until the end of the summer because we are not sure what might happen between now and September."